National statistics

Why do people come to the UK? (2) To work

Published 24 May 2018

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-march-2018/why-do-people-come-to-the-uk-2-to-work

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Data relate to the year ending March 2018 and all comparisons are with the year ending March 2017, unless indicated otherwise.

This section contains data on:

  • Work-related visas granted

We provide a more detailed commentary on an annual basis. This is included in ‘Immigration Statistics, April to June 2017’.

1. Key facts

There were 162,874 Work-related visas granted in the year ending March 2018, 1% fewer than the previous year. This included:

  • 5,198 high-value (Tier 1) visas, up 11%
  • 93,048 Skilled (Tier 2) visas, down 1%
  • 40,472 youth mobility and temporary workers (Tier 5), down 3%
  • 24,156 non-points-based system (PBS) / other Work visas, no change from the previous year

There were 99,229 Work-sponsored visa applications by main applicants in the year ending March 2018. Of these, 53,674 were for Tier 2 Skilled applications, 4% fewer than the previous year (56,047).

Additionally, according to estimates from Labour Force Survey, UK and non-UK people in the labour market: May 2018, the number of people employed in the UK increased in the first quarter of 2018 by 396,000 as compared to the first quarter of 2017, reaching 32.34 million, this being the highest since the series began in 1981. There were 28.73 million UK nationals in employment in the UK (up 417,000), 2.29 million EU nationals (down 28,000) and 1.25 million non-EU nationals (up 20,000).

2. Work immigration

The number of Work-related visas granted in the year ending March 2018 fell by 1% compared with the previous year. The majority of these (57%) were Skilled (Tier 2) visas, although the number of Skilled (Tier 2) visas granted fell by 1% compared with the previous year.

Year ending March 2017 Year ending March 2018 Change Percentage change
Work-related visas granted 164,118 162,874 -1,244 -1%
of which:        
High-value (Tier 1) visas 4,675 5,198 +523 +11%
Skilled (Tier 2) visas 93,561 93,048 -513 -1%
Youth mobility and temporary workers (Tier 5) visas 41,767 40,472 -1,295 -3%
Non-PBS/other Work visas 24,115 24,156 +41 0%

Source:

Table vi 04 q (Entry clearance visas tables, volume 1).

The chart shows the trends for Work visas granted between 2005 and the latest data published. The data are sourced from Visas table vi 04 q and corresponding datasets.

Source:

Table vi 04 q (Entry clearance visas tables, volume 1)

Chart note:

  1. ‘All Work-related visas’ include long-term work-related visas, dependants of those granted Work-related visas, and short-term work-related visas (those issued for less than a year).

3. Skilled work

In the year ending March 2018, 98% of the 95,411 decisions made on Entry clearance visa applications for Skilled work were grants (93,048). The grant rate was 1 percentage point higher than the previous year (97%), but the number of grants was 1% lower than the previous year (93,561).

The nationalities that were granted the highest number of Skilled work visas were:

  • Indian nationals, accounting for 55% of visas granted (down 3 percentage points on the previous year)
  • US nationals, accounting for 10% of visas granted (no change from the previous year)
  • Japanese nationals, accounting for 4% of visas granted (no change from the previous year)

The number of sponsored visa applications for Skilled work decreased by 4% to 53,674 (main applicants). This includes:

  • 6,995 applications in the Human health and social work activities sector (up 28%)
  • 21,188 applications in the Information and communication sector (down 9%)
  • 8,680 applications in the Professional, scientific and technical activities sector (down 15%)

Applications from the information and communication sector accounted for the largest proportion of all Skilled work-sponsored visa applications (39%).

The chart shows the sponsored visa applications by industry sector for the year ending March 2017 and year ending March 2018. The data are sourced from the Sponsorship tables.

Source:

Table cs 03 q (Sponsorship tables)

Chart note:

  1. Main applicants only.

UK Visas and Immigration produce monthly reports on Allocations of restricted certificates of sponsorship under the permanent limit on migration through Tier 2 (General).

4. Data tables

Data on immigration for work can be found in the following tables:

Sponsorship tables
Entry clearance visas tables volume 1
Entry clearance visas tables volume 2
Entry clearance visas tables volume 3
Admissions tables
Extensions tables
Settlement tables
European Economic Area (EEA) tables

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